PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers women's lacrosse (4-7, 0-5) hosts No. 6 Stony Brook (9-2, 4-0) for a primetime Wednesday night matchup in Piscataway. First draw from SHI Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m., Jason Knapp and Rachael DeCecco handling the national broadcast on Big Ten Network.

Admission and parking for all home games are free. Fans planning to park must register their vehicles with the University through this link. Visitors only need to register their vehicle once for the entire season. Parking for 2023 home games is in the Scarlet Lot outside the West entrance of SHI Stadium.

Wednesday will be a rematch from last year's NCAA Tournament, when Stony Brook defeated Rutgers, 11-7, during the second round at LaValle Stadium on Long Island. Tied 7-7 in the third quarter, the Seawolves outscored the Scarlet Knights, 4-0, in the final 27 minutes of the game to advance to the Elite Eight against No. 1 North Carolina.
 

Last Time Out

• Rutgers lost to No. 2 Northwestern, 16-6, last Thursday at SHI Stadium. The Scarlet Knights scored the first goal of the night, but the Wildcats – who entered the night with the top scoring offense in the country – used a 30-17 shooting advantage and an 8-1 scoring run at the end of the game to secure the Big Ten Conference victory.
• Senior Cassidy Spilis netted a hat trick in the loss, moving past Heather Jones (1991-94) for second in program history in career goals scored with 175. Spilis needs just 13 goals to pass current volunteer assistant coach Taralyn Naslonski (2018-22) for the most in school history. Spilis also secured the 200th draw control and 100th ground ball of her career during the contest.

What to Know

• The Scarlet Knights' matchup against the No. 6 Seawolves is the second of three home games scheduled in April against top-six opponents, as No. 4 James Madison (4/23) is also set to visit Piscataway this month. In total, Rutgers has already faced nine programs that have appeared in this year's IWLCA Poll.
• With 175 career goals, senior midfielder Cassidy Spilis is 13 goals away from passing current volunteer assistant coach Taralyn Naslonski (2018-22) for the most in school history. Spilis leads the team with 30 goals this season and is fifth in the Big Ten with 2.73 goals scored per game.
• Senior defender Meghan Ball leads the country with 4.18 caused turnovers per game. The two-time IWLCA National Defensive Player of the Week and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week also leads the Big Ten ground balls per game (3.55) and is second in draw controls per game (6.36).
• Ball caused a team-high six turnovers last Thursday against the Northwestern - the 24th time in her career she has caused three or more turnovers in a game. Ball has caused three or more turnovers eight times this spring and five or more turnovers five times in 2023.
• Graduate student Marin Hartshorn has provided a spark on offense for Rutgers over the past month, producing 28 points on 16 goals and 12 assists across RU's past seven games.
• Senior Jenna Byrne needs one point for 100 for her career. Classmate Jessica Beneducci needs six ground balls for 100.

Statistical Leaders

• Meghan Ball
  • CTs-Per-Game: 4.18 (First B1G, First NCAA)
  • GBs-Per-Game: 3.55 (First B1G, Seventh NCAA)
  • DCs-Per-Game: 6.36 (Second B1G, 18th NCAA)
• Cassidy Spilis
  • Goals: 30 (10th B1G)
  • Goals-Per-Game: 2.73 (Fifth B1G)
• Marin Hartshorn
  • Assists: 16 (Seventh B1G)
  • Assists-Per-Game: 1.45 (Fourth B1G)
• Jenna Byrne
  • Assists: 13 (Ninth B1G)
  • Assists-Per-Game: 1.27 (Seventh B1G)

Scouting Stony Brook and Series History

• The Seawolves enter Wednesday's game with a 9-2 record, defeating Monmouth, 20-5, last Friday in West Long Branch in their last time out. Stony Brook has won four consecutive games and owns wins over No. 17 Stanford, No. 18 Michigan and No. 21 Yale this season.
• Midfielder Ellie Masera was named CAA Player of the Week for her performance against Monmouth, tallying four goals, a season-high three assists, four ground balls, one caused turnover, and a game-high eight draw controls in the Seawolves' dominant win. Masera leads the team with 55 points on 46 goals and nine helpers this season.
• Stony Brook is sixth in the country in scoring defense (8.00) and 20th in scoring offense (15.00).
• Stony Brook leads the all-time series with Rutgers, 4-0. The Seawolves and Scarlet Knights have squared off in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments, with Stony Brook winning both matchups in 2021 and 2022.

Up Next

• Rutgers is on the road at Vermont on Saturday in Burlington. First draw is set for Noon, with a live stream on ESPN3.